Improper Input Validation, Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') vulnerability in Apache ActiveMQ, Apache ActiveMQ Broker, Apache ActiveMQ All.
An authenticated attacker can use the admin web console page to construct a malicious broker name that bypasses name validation to include an xbean binding that can be later used by a VM transport to load a remote Spring XML application. The attacker can then use the DestinationView mbean to send a message to trigger a VM transport creation that will reference this malicious broker name which can lead to loading the malicious Spring XML context file.
Because Spring's ResourceXmlApplicationContext instantiates all singleton beans before the BrokerService validates the configuration, arbitrary code execution occurs on the broker's JVM through bean factory methods such as Runtime.exec().
This issue affects Apache ActiveMQ: before 5.19.6, from 6.0.0 before 6.2.5; Apache ActiveMQ Broker: before 5.19.6, from 6.0.0 before 6.2.5; Apache ActiveMQ All: before 5.19.6, from 6.0.0 before 6.2.5.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 6.2.5 or 5.19.6, which fixes the issue.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| apache / activemq | - | 5.19.6 |
| apache / activemq | 6.0.0 | 6.2.5 |
| apache / activemq_broker | - | 5.19.6 |
| apache / activemq_broker | 6.0.0 | 6.2.5 |
org.apache.activemq / apache-activemq
|
- | 5.19.6 |
org.apache.activemq / activemq-all
|
- | 5.19.6 |
org.apache.activemq / activemq-broker
|
- | 5.19.6 |
org.apache.activemq / apache-activemq
|
6.0.0 | 6.2.5 |
org.apache.activemq / activemq-all
|
6.0.0 | 6.2.5 |
org.apache.activemq / activemq-broker
|
6.0.0 | 6.2.5 |
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
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Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
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